This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

24925 

Vol. 77, No. 81 

Thursday, April 26, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket No. 2011–0001] 

Privacy Act of 1974; System of 

Records 

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Revision of Privacy 

Act Systems of Records. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is revising two 

Privacy Act (PA) systems of records and 

deleting two PA systems of records 

maintained by the National Institute of 

Food and Agriculture (NIFA), formerly 

the Cooperative State Research, 

Education, and Extension Service 

(CSREES). 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

May 29, 2012. These systems will be 

effective May 29, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by Docket No. 2011–0001 by 

one of the following methods: Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Email: stasia.hutchison@ars.usda.gov. 

Include the text ‘‘NIFA Privacy Act 

System of Records’’ in the subject line 

of the message. Fax: (202) 504–1647. 

Mail: Stasia Hutchison, Freedom of 

Information Act and Privacy Act Officer, 

Information Staff, Agricultural Research 

Service, Research, Education, and 

Economics, Department of Agriculture, 

Mail Stop 5128, 5601 Sunnyside 

Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705–5128. 

Hand Delivery/Courier: Stasia 

Hutchison, Freedom of Information Act 

and Privacy Act Officer, Information 

Staff, Agricultural Research Service, 

Research, Education, and Economics, 

Department of Agriculture, George 

Washington Carver Center, Building 1, 

Room 2248, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, 

Beltsville, MD 20705–5128. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number for this rulemaking. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Docket: 

For access to the docket to read 

background documents or comments 

received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stasia Hutchison, Freedom of 

Information Act and Privacy Act Officer, 

Information Staff, Agricultural Research 

Service, Research, Education, and 

Economics, Department of Agriculture, 

5601 Sunnyside Avenue, STOP 5128, 

Beltsville, MD 20705–5128; Telephone 

(301) 504–1655; Facsimile (301) 504– 

1647; Email: 

stasia.hutchison@ars.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

1. Two systems of records are being 

revised. 

A. State Cooperative Extension 

Service Employees, USDA/NIFA–1. The 

State Cooperative Extension Service 

Employees System is utilized to prepare 

the annual salary analysis report that is 

used as a management tool for salary 

analysis purposes as well as historical 

purposes. Cooperative Extension 

Service (CES) employee records are 

permanently maintained in the CES 

Personnel Information System database 

of NIFA. This database is updated 

annually from data provided by 1862 

and 1890 land-grant universities. This 

database is maintained by the 

Agricultural Research Service, Human 

Resources Division. 

The purpose of this revision to the 

system of records is to change the 

system designation from USDA/ 

CSREES–3 to USDA/NIFA–2; change 

references to the agency name to NIFA 

to acknowledge the reorganization; 

identify changes in the way records are 

retrieved and safeguarded; update the 

retention and disposal section to 

include Records Management Policies 

and Procedures; update the notification 

procedures, records access procedures, 

and contesting records procedures to 

direct individuals to the Freedom of 

Information Act Officer; modify the 

routine uses by adding four relating to 

security breaches, records management 

inspections, oversight operations, and 

access by contractors/grantees/experts/ 

consultants/and others performing work 

or working on behalf of the Department; 

and add the following sections: Security 

classification, purpose, and disclosure 

to consumer reporting agencies. 

Use of this system, as established, 

should not result in undue infringement 

of any individual’s right to privacy. 

The revised system of records will not 

be exempt from any provisions of the 

Privacy Act. 

Proper safeguards are taken to prevent 

unauthorized access to the records. 

Authorization must be obtained from 

the Director, NIFA, or the Chief, MSB– 

HRD, ARS, before information is 

released. All records are accessed by 

unique passwords and logon 

procedures. Only those employees with 

a need-to-know in order to perform their 

duties are able to access the 

information. 

Consistent with USDA’s informationsharing mission, information stored in 

the State Cooperative Extension Service 

Employees system of records may be 

shared with other USDA components, as 

well as appropriate Federal, State, local, 

Tribal, foreign, or international 

government agencies. This sharing will 

take place only after USDA determines 

that the receiving component or agency 

has a need to know the information to 

carry out national security, law 

enforcement, immigration, intelligence, 

or other functions consistent with the 

routine uses set forth in this system of 

records notice. 

B. National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture Grants Systems, USDA/ 

NIFA–3. NIFA receives research, 

education, and extension grant 

applications each year, of which 

approximately a quarter are awarded. 

The majority of these applications are 

subjected to a rigorous peer-review 

involving technical experts (scientists, 

educators, farmers, engineers, and 

extension specialists) located 

worldwide. Given the highly technical 

nature of many of these applications, 

the quality of the peer-review greatly 

depends on the appropriate matching of 

the subject matter of the application 

with the technical expertise of the 

potential reviewer. NIFA maintains a 

database of potential reviewers. 

Information in the database is used to 

match applications with the most 

appropriate (potential) reviewers. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
24926 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 81 / Thursday, April 26, 2012 / Notices 

Therefore, the accuracy of the database 

content is integral to the success of the 

NIFA peer review process. In addition 

to the reviewer information, applicant 

information is maintained for the proper 

oversight of the Federal funds and is 

also used to respond to inquiries from 

Congress, other governmental agencies, 

and the grantee community. The 

authorities for maintaining this system 

of records are National Agricultural 

Research, Extension, and Teaching 

Policy Act of 1977 (NARETPA), 7 U.S.C. 

3318. 

The purpose of this revision to the 

system of records is to change the 

system designation from USDA/ 

CSREES–4 to USDA/NIFA–3; change 

the agency name to NIFA to 

acknowledge the reorganization; update 

the safeguards to include agency rules 

and policies; update the retention and 

disposal section to include Records 

Management Policies and Procedures; 

update the notification procedures, 

records access procedures, and 

contesting records procedures to direct 

individuals to the Freedom of 

Information Act Officer; modify the 

routine uses by adding four relating to 

security breaches, records management 

inspections, oversight operations, and 

the Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2006 reflecting 

loans, grants, or other payments to 

members of the public; and add the 

following sections: Security 

classification, purpose, and disclosure 

to consumer reporting agencies. 

Use of this system, as established, 

should not result in undue infringement 

of any individual’s right to privacy. 

The revised system of records will not 

be exempt from any provisions of the 

Privacy Act. 

Proper safeguards are taken to prevent 

unauthorized access to the records. All 

records containing personal information 

are maintained in secured file cabinets 

or are accessed by unique passwords 

and logon procedures. Only those 

employees with a need-to-know in order 

to perform their duties will be able to 

access the information. 

Consistent with USDA’s information 

sharing mission, information stored in 

the National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture Grants Systems system of 

records may be shared with other USDA 

components, as well as appropriate 

Federal, State, local, Tribal, foreign, or 

international government agencies. This 

sharing will take place only after USDA 

determines that the receiving 

component or agency has a need to 

know the information to carry out 

national security, law enforcement, 

immigration, intelligence, or other 

functions consistent with the routine 

uses set forth in this system of records 

notice. 

2. Two systems are being deleted as 

follows: 

A. Current Research Information 

System, USDA/CSREES–1, is being 

deleted as the records no longer meet 

the requirements for a Privacy Act 

system of records. 

B. International Programs Recruitment 

Roster, USDA/CSREES–2 is being 

deleted as the records are no longer 

relevant and necessary to accomplish a 

purpose of the Agency. The records no 

longer exist. 

Notice is hereby given that USDA is 

revising two PA systems of records and 

deleting two PA systems of records 

maintained by NIFA, formerly CSREES. 

II. Privacy Act 

The Privacy Act embodies fair 

information principles in a statutory 

framework governing the means by 

which the United States Government 

collects, maintains, uses, and 

disseminates individuals’ records. The 

Privacy Act applies to information that 

is maintained in a ‘‘system of records.’’ 

A ‘‘system of records’’ is a group of any 

records under the control of an agency 

for which information is retrieved by 

the name of an individual or by some 

identifying number, symbol, or other 

identifying particular assigned to the 

individual. In the Privacy Act, an 

individual is defined to encompass 

United States citizens and lawful 

permanent residents. 

The Privacy Act requires each agency 

to publish in the Federal Register a 

description denoting the type and 

character of each system of records that 

the agency maintains, and the routine 

uses that are contained in each system 

in order to make agency recordkeeping 

practices transparent, to notify 

individuals regarding the uses to which 

their records are put, and to assist 

individuals to more easily find such 

files within the agency. 

Below are descriptions of the State 

Cooperative Extension Service 

Employees, USDA/NIFA–2, and the 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture Grant Systems, USDA/ 

NIFA–3. 

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), 

USDA has provided a report of this 

system of records to the Administrator, 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget; Chairman, Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental 

Affairs, United States Senate; and 

Chairman, Committee on Oversight and 

Government Reform, U.S. House of 

Representatives. 

Dated: April 2, 2012. 

Thomas J. Vilsack, 

Secretary. 

SYSTEM OF RECORDS NOTICE

USDA/NIFA–2

SYSTEM NAME: 

State Cooperative Extension Service 

Employees, USDA/NIFA–2. 

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: 

None. 

SYSTEM LOCATION: 

Records are maintained at the 

Department of Agriculture (USDA), 

Agricultural Research Service (ARS), 

Human Resources Division (HRD), 

Metropolitan Services Branch (MSB), 

Portals Building, 1280 Maryland 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20024. 

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE

SYSTEM: 

Categories of individuals covered by 

this system include: All professional 

employees of the State Cooperative 

Extension Service from 1968 to present. 

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

Categories of records in this system 

include: Personnel and payroll 

information on professional State 

Cooperative Extension Service 

employees. 

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM: 

7 U.S.C. 341, et seq. 

PURPOSE(S): 

The purpose of this system is to 

prepare the annual salary analysis 

report that is used as a management tool 

for salary analysis purposes as well as 

historical purposes. 

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE

SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND

THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES: 

In addition to those disclosures 

generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 

552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a 

portion of the records or information 

contained in this system may be 

disclosed outside USDA as a routine use 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as 

follows: 

A. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), 

including United States Attorney 

Offices, or other Federal agency 

conducting litigation or in proceedings 

before any court, adjudicative or 

administrative body, when it is 

necessary to the litigation and one of the 

following is a party to the litigation or 

has an interest in such litigation: 

1. USDA or any component thereof; 

2. Any employee of USDA in his/her 

official capacity; 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 81 / Thursday, April 26, 2012 / Notices 24927 

3. Any employee of USDA in his/her 

individual capacity where DOJ or USDA 

has agreed to represent the employee; or 

4. The United States or any agency 

thereof, is a party to the litigation or has 

an interest in such litigation, and USDA 

determines that the records are both 

relevant and necessary to the litigation 

and the use of such records is 

compatible with the purpose for which 

USDA collected the records. 

B. To a congressional office from the 

record of an individual in response to 

an inquiry from that congressional office 

made at the written request of the 

individual to whom the record pertains. 

C. To the National Archives and 

Records Administration or other Federal 

government agencies pursuant to 

records management inspections being 

conducted under the authority of 44 

U.S.C. 2904 and 2906. 

D. To an agency, organization, or 

individual for the purpose of performing 

audit or oversight operations as 

authorized by law, but only such 

information as is necessary and relevant 

to such audit or oversight function. 

E. To appropriate agencies, entities, 

and persons when: 

1. NIFA suspects or has confirmed 

that the security or confidentiality of 

information in the system of records has 

been compromised; 

2. USDA has determined that as a 

result of the suspected or confirmed 

compromise there is a risk of harm to 

economic or property interests, identity 

theft or fraud, or harm to the security or 

integrity of this system or other systems 

or programs (whether maintained by 

USDA or another agency or entity) or 

harm to the individuals who rely upon 

the compromised information; and 

3. The disclosure made to such 

agencies, entities, and persons is 

reasonably necessary to assist in 

connection with USDA’s efforts to 

respond to the suspected or confirmed 

compromise and prevent, minimize, or 

remedy such harm. 

F. To contractors and their agents, 

grantees, experts, consultants, and 

others performing or working on a 

contract, service, grant, cooperative 

agreement, or other assignment for 

USDA, when necessary to accomplish 

an agency function related to this 

system of records. Individuals provided 

information under this routine use are 

subject to the same Privacy Act 

requirements and limitations on 

disclosure as are applicable to USDA 

officers and employees. 

G. To an appropriate Federal, State, 

Tribal, local, international, or foreign 

law enforcement agency or other 

appropriate authority charged with 

investigating or prosecuting a violation 

or enforcing or implementing a law, 

rule, regulation, or order, where a 

record, either on its face or in 

conjunction with other information, 

indicates a violation or potential 

violation of law, which includes 

criminal, civil, or regulatory violations, 

whether arising by general statute or 

particular program statute, or by 

regulation, rule, or order issued 

pursuant thereto if the information 

disclosed is relevant to any 

enforcement, regulatory, investigative, 

or prosecutive responsibility of the 

receiving entity. 

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING

AGENCIES: 

None. 

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, 

RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND

DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

STORAGE: 

Records in this system are maintained 

in an electronic database in a secured 

facility. 

RETRIEVABILITY: 

Records may be retrieved by a unique 

State identifying number or last name of 

the individual. 

SAFEGUARDS: 

Records in this system are 

safeguarded in accordance with 

applicable rules and policies, including 

all applicable USDA automated systems 

security and access policies. Strict 

controls have been imposed to minimize 

the risk of compromising the 

information that is being stored. Access 

to the computer system containing the 

records in this system is limited to those 

individuals who have a need to know 

the information for the performance of 

their official duties and who have 

appropriate clearances or permissions. 

Authorization must be obtained from 

the Director, NIFA, or the Chief, MSB– 

HRD, ARS, before information is 

released. All records are accessed by 

unique passwords and logon 

procedures. 

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL: 

Records are retained under the 

authority of the REE Policies and 

Procedures contained in REE Manual 

251.8 ‘‘Records Management’’ and 

251.8M ‘‘Records Management 

(Manual)’’, which establishes REE 

policies and procedures for the creation, 

maintenance, and disposition of 

records, and in accordance with the 

General Records Schedules issued by 

the National Archives and Records 

Administration. Records are retained 

indefinitely. 

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS(ES): 

Personnel and Data Information 

Specialist, MSB, HRD, ARS, USDA, 

Portals Building, 1280 Maryland 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20024. 

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE: 

Individuals seeking notification of 

and access to any record contained in 

this system of records, or seeking to 

contest its content, may submit a 

request in writing to the Headquarters or 

component’s Freedom of Information 

Act (FOIA) Officer, whose contact 

information can be found at http:// 

www.dm.usda.gov/ 

foia_agency_pocs.htm under ‘‘contacts.’’ 

If an individual believes more than one 

component maintains Privacy Act 

records concerning him or her, the 

individual may submit the request to 

the Chief FOIA Officer, Department of 

Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20250. 

When seeking records about yourself 

from this system of records or any other 

Departmental system of records, your 

request must conform with the Privacy 

Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 

5. You must first verify your identity, 

meaning that you must provide your full 

name, current address, and date and 

place of birth. You must sign your 

request, and your signature must either 

be notarized or submitted under 28 

U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits 

statements to be made under penalty of 

perjury as a substitute for notarization. 

While no specific form is required, you 

may obtain forms for this purpose from 

the Chief FOIA Officer, Department of 

Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20250. In addition 

you should provide the following: 

• An explanation of why you believe 

the Department would have information 

on you; 

• Identify the component(s) of the 

Department you believe may have the 

information about you; 

• Specify when you believe the 

records would have been created; 

• Any additional information that 

will help the FOIA staff determine 

which USDA component agency may 

have responsive records; 

• If your request is seeking records 

pertaining to another living individual, 

you must include a statement from that 

individual certifying his/her agreement 

for you to access his/her records. 

Without this bulleted information, the 

component(s) may not be able to 

conduct an effective search, and your 

request may be denied due to lack of 

specificity or lack of compliance with 

applicable regulations. 

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: 

See ‘‘Notification procedure’’ above. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
24928 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 81 / Thursday, April 26, 2012 / Notices 

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES: 

See ‘‘Notification procedure’’ above. 

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES: 

Information in this system comes 

primarily from the State Cooperative 

Extension Service employees with 

additional data provided by the 

employees’ personnel office. 

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM: 

None. 

SYSTEM OF RECORDS NOTICE

USDA/NIFA–3

SYSTEM NAME: 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture Grants Systems, USDA/ 

NIFA–3. 

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: 

None. 

SYSTEM LOCATION: 

Records are maintained in Program, 

Grants, and Funds Management offices 

and in a computerized system at the 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture (NIFA), Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), Waterfront Centre, 

800 9th Street SW., Washington, DC 

20024. 

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE

SYSTEM: 

Categories of individuals covered by 

this system include: Individuals that 

have submitted proposals to NIFA, 

either individually or through an 

academic or other institution, and peer 

reviewers that evaluate NIFA applicants 

and their proposals. 

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

Categories of records in this system 

include: Records of the project director, 

the authorized organizational 

representative, potential proposal 

reviewers, the proposal and its 

identifying number, supporting data 

from the academic institution or other 

applicant, proposal evaluations from 

peer reviewers, a review record, 

financial data, and other related 

material such as, committee or panel 

discussion summaries and other agency 

records containing or reflecting 

comments on the proposal or the 

applicants from peer reviewers. 

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM: 

National Agricultural Research, 

Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

1977 (NARETPA), 7 U.S.C. 3318. 

PURPOSE(S): 

NIFA receives research, education, 

and extension grant applications each 

year, of which approximately a quarter 

are awarded. The majority of these 

applications are subjected to a rigorous 

peer-review involving technical experts 

(scientists, educators, farmers, 

engineers, extension specialists) located 

world-wide. Given the highly technical 

nature of many of these applications, 

the quality of the peer-review greatly 

depends on the appropriate matching of 

the subject matter of the application 

with the technical expertise of the 

potential reviewer. NIFA maintains a 

database of potential reviewers. 

Information in the database is used to 

match applications with the most 

appropriate (potential) reviewers. 

Therefore, the accuracy of the database 

content is integral to the success of the 

NIFA peer review process. In addition 

to the reviewer information, applicant 

information is maintained for the proper 

oversight of the Federal funds and is 

also used to respond to inquiries from 

Congress, other governmental agencies, 

and the grantee community. 

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE

SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND

THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES: 

In addition to those disclosures 

generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 

552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a 

portion of the records or information 

contained in this system may be 

disclosed outside USDA as a routine use 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as 

follows: 

A. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), 

including United States Attorney 

Offices, or other Federal agency 

conducting litigation or in proceedings 

before any court, adjudicative or 

administrative body, when it is 

necessary to the litigation and one of the 

following is a party to the litigation or 

has an interest in such litigation: 

1. USDA or any component thereof; 

2. Any employee of USDA in his/her 

official capacity; 

3. Any employee of USDA in his/her 

individual capacity where DOJ or USDA 

has agreed to represent the employee; or 

4. The United States or any agency 

thereof, is a party to the litigation or has 

an interest in such litigation, and USDA 

determines that the records are both 

relevant and necessary to the litigation 

and the use of such records is 

compatible with the purpose for which 

USDA collected the records. 

B. To a congressional office from the 

record of an individual in response to 

an inquiry from that congressional office 

made at the written request of the 

individual to whom the record pertains. 

C. To the National Archives and 

Records Administration or other Federal 

government agencies pursuant to 

records management inspections being 

conducted under the authority of 44 

U.S.C. 2904 and 2906. 

D. To an agency, organization, or 

individual for the purpose of performing 

audit or oversight operations as 

authorized by law, but only such 

information as is necessary and relevant 

to such audit or oversight function. 

E. To appropriate agencies, entities, 

and persons when: 

1. NIFA suspects or has confirmed 

that the security or confidentiality of 

information in the system of records has 

been compromised; 

2. USDA has determined that as a 

result of the suspected or confirmed 

compromise there is a risk of harm to 

economic or property interests, identity 

theft or fraud, or harm to the security or 

integrity of this system or other systems 

or programs (whether maintained by 

USDA or another agency or entity) or 

harm to the individual that rely upon 

the compromised information; and 

3. The disclosure made to such 

agencies, entities, and persons is 

reasonably necessary to assist in 

connection with USDA’s efforts to 

respond to the suspected or confirmed 

compromise and prevent, minimize, or 

remedy such harm. 

F. To contractors and their agents, 

grantees, experts, consultants, and 

others performing or working on a 

contract, service, grant, cooperative 

agreement, or other assignment for 

USDA, when necessary to accomplish 

an agency function related to this 

system of records. Individuals provided 

information under this routine use are 

subject to the same Privacy Act 

requirements and limitations on 

disclosure as are applicable to USDA 

officers and employees. 

G. To an appropriate Federal, State, 

Tribal, local, international, or foreign 

law enforcement agency or other 

appropriate authority charged with 

investigating or prosecuting a violation 

or enforcing or implementing a law, 

rule, regulation, or order, where a 

record, either on its face or in 

conjunction with other information, 

indicates a violation or potential 

violation of law, which includes 

criminal, civil, or regulatory violations, 

whether arising by general statute or 

particular program statute, or by 

regulation, rule or order issued pursuant 

thereto if the information disclosed is 

relevant to any enforcement, regulatory, 

investigative, or prosecutive 

responsibility of the receiving entity. 

H. USDA will disclose information 

about individuals from this system of 

records in accordance with the Federal 

Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. No. 

109–282; codified at 31 U.S.C. 6101, et 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 81 / Thursday, April 26, 2012 / Notices 24929 

seq.); section 204 of the E-Government 

Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–347; 44 U.S.C. 

3501 note), and the Office of Federal 

Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403 

et seq.), or similar statutes requiring 

agencies to make available publicly 

information concerning Federal 

financial assistance, including grants, 

subgrants, loan awards, cooperative 

agreements and other financial 

assistance; and contracts, subcontracts, 

purchase orders, task orders, and 

delivery orders. 

I. To other Federal agencies needing 

names of potential reviewers or 

specialists in particular fields. 

J. To other Federal agencies as part of 

the Presidential Management Initiative, 

E-Grants. 

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING

AGENCIES: 

None. 

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, 

RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND

DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

STORAGE: 

Records are maintained on system file 

servers and paper files in the program 

offices at NIFA, USDA, Waterfront 

Centre, 800 9th Street SW., Washington, 

DC 20024. 

RETRIEVABILITY: 

Records can be retrieved by name, 

project leader, co-investigator, and any 

other data field such as institution or 

title. 

SAFEGUARDS: 

Records in this system are 

safeguarded in accordance with 

applicable rules and policies, including 

all applicable USDA automated systems 

security and access policies. Strict 

controls have been imposed to minimize 

the risk of compromising the 

information that is being stored. Access 

to the computer system containing the 

records in this system is limited to those 

individuals who have a need to know 

the information for the performance of 

their official duties and who have 

appropriate clearances or permissions. 

All records containing personal 

information are maintained in secured 

file cabinets or are accessed by unique 

passwords and logon procedures. Only 

those employees with a need-to-know in 

order to perform their duties will be 

able to access the information. 

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL: 

Records are retained under the 

authority of the REE Policies and 

Procedures contained in REE Manual 

251.8 ‘‘Records Management’’ and 

251.8M ‘‘Records Management 

(Manual)’’, which establishes REE 

policies and procedures for the creation, 

maintenance, and disposition of 

records, and in accordance with the 

General Records Schedules issued by 

the National Archives and Records 

Administration. The Data File is 

cumulative and is maintained 

indefinitely, and documents are 

disposed according to agency file plan 

and disposition schedule. Non-funded 

proposals are maintained onsite for 1 

year and then disposed after 3 years. 

Funded proposals are maintained onsite 

for 1 year after completion of the award, 

and then transferred to the National 

Archive and Records Administration. 

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS(ES): 

Deputy Administrator, Office of 

Information Technology (OIT), NIFA, 

USDA, Stop 2216, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250– 

2216. The address for express mail or 

overnight courier service is: Deputy 

Administrator, OIT, NIFA, USDA, 

Waterfront Centre, 800 9th Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20024. 

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE: 

Individuals seeking notification of 

and access to any record contained in 

this system of records, or seeking to 

contest its content, may submit a 

request in writing to the Headquarters or 

component’s Freedom of Information 

Act (FOIA) Officer, whose contact 

information can be found at http:// 

www.dm.usda.gov/foia_agency

_pocs.htm under ‘‘contacts.’’ If an 

individual believes more than one 

component maintains Privacy Act 

records concerning him or her, the 

individual may submit the request to 

the Chief FOIA Officer, Department of 

Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20250. 

When seeking records about yourself 

from this system of records or any other 

Departmental system of records your 

request must conform with the Privacy 

Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR Part 

5. You must first verify your identity, 

meaning that you must provide your full 

name, current address and date and 

place of birth. You must sign your 

request, and your signature must either 

be notarized or submitted under 28 

U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits 

statements to be made under penalty of 

perjury as a substitute for notarization. 

While no specific form is required, you 

may obtain forms for this purpose from 

the Chief FOIA Officer, Department of 

Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20250. In addition 

you should provide the following: 

• An explanation of why you believe 

the Department would have information 

on you; 

• Identify the component(s) of the 

Department you believe may have the 

information about you; 

• Specify when you believe the 

records would have been created; 

• Any additional information that 

will help the FOIA staff determine 

which USDA component agency may 

have responsive records; 

• If your request is seeking records 

pertaining to another living individual, 

you must include a statement from that 

individual certifying his/her agreement 

for you to access his/her records. 

Without this bulleted information the 

component(s) may not be able to 

conduct an effective search, and your 

request may be denied due to lack of 

specificity or lack of compliance with 

applicable regulations. 

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: 

See ‘‘Notification procedure’’ above. 

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES: 

See ‘‘Notification procedure’’ above. 

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES: 

Information in this system is obtained 

from the individuals submitting the 

proposals and from peer reviewers. 

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM: 

None. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10015 Filed 4–25–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Office of the Secretary 

Privacy Act of 1974; New System of 

Records 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of a new system of 

records. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 

proposing to add a new Forest Service 

system to its inventory of records 

systems. USDA invites public comment 

on this new records system. 

DATES: Comments must be received in 

writing, on or before May 29, 2012. This 

system will be adopted without further 

notice, on June 25, 2012, unless 

modified to respond to comments 

received from the public and published 

in a subsequent notice. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

the Forest Service Freedom of 

Information Act and Privacy Act Officer, 

USDA Forest Service, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Mail Stop 

1143, Washington, DC 20250–1143. 

Comments may also be sent via email to 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES